Electricity grids use “demand response” (DR) mechanisms to control loading on the grid, such as by shedding load or delaying load. DR operations depend on having one or more customer loads configured to respond to DR signaling. In an example implementation, the operator(s) of a given power distribution network determine that a DR event is needed, demand responsive loads are selected for participation in the DR event, and signaling is sent accordingly, to control the selected demand responsive loads. Control actions include shut-off, which essentially takes the load off the grid, but may also include percent-reduction commands that allow given loads to be reduced but not entirely shut off.
The process of selecting demand responsive loads (customers) during a DR event is traditionally a random process where the customers are selected based on the similarity of the constraints in their utility contracts and the time constraints of the DR event issued. The location and number of customers chosen this way is not necessary optimal because of the random nature of the selection process.
Other known selection techniques include the use of “electrical distance” as the selection factor used to determine which demand responsive loads are selected for participation in a given DR event. This approach drives the load selection process according to power loss evaluations that are determined according to the electrical distance model, which disfavors or otherwise complicates its application to mesh networks and other complex topologies and/or to networks that include distributed generation systems.